10 Biggest Stars Of Wrestling's Empty Arena Era (So Far)

2. Sami Zayn

Edge WrestleMania 36
WWE.com

To many, Sami Zayn was the ultimate babyface who could never, ever possibly even contemplate becoming a heel at any point in time. But, to paraphrase Phil Collins, take a look at him now.

Since turning to the dark side, the former El Generico has continuously made the most of whatever opportunities he was given. For the most part, those opportunities have involved him becoming the mouthpiece for Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro as part of The Artist Collective, but Sami has stepped up to the plate even further in the ongoing era of the emtpy arena.

The current Intercontinental Champion has always been an engaging, entertaining performer, and this heel act has been allowed to be amped up to 11 in this unique setting. At this point in time, it wouldn't be hyperbolic to state that Sami Zayn is the most important player on the SmackDown brand.

He may not have the Universal Championship that Braun Strowman holds, he may not have the mystique of The Fiend, and he may be viewed as the poster boy of the blue brand, but right now SmackDown would be a far duller place without Sami Zayn quipping wise, yucking it up, and delivering in-ring when called upon.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.